Show Investors You Aren’t Afraid to Invest in Your Own Business

What financing secret can you offer to help an entrepreneur looking for money?

JOANNE CHANG: When I started my business, the first thing my investors asked me was, “How much skin do you have in the game?” That is, how much of my OWN money was I risking given that I was asking them to risk their money on my unproven venture.

It opened my eyes to realizing that if I didn’t believe in my idea enough to put my money in it, how could I expect them to? So I liquidated some accounts that I had for “just in case” purposes and poured as much as I reasonably could into Flour before I asked for more. I know this goes against common wisdom not to put in your own money if you can help it and instead to rely on outside investment. But for me it really upped the stakes—I had to make this work because my money was in it. It helped me with my accountability and it help legitimize my business in the eyes of my potential investors.

Joanne Chang (@jbchang) is the owner of and chef at Flour Bakery + Café and Myers + Chang in Boston.